Q: Do lots of people know about your upcoming performance?
A: Yes! It’s great. Lots of people know me from the market, so all Saturday people were coming up and asking me about it, teasing me. I’m quiet and shy, and people kept coming up and saying, “Mary! Are you really going to do this?!?”
Q: How did you get involved in this?
A: I have a very dear friend named Chai Chu Thompson, and they originally approached her to be in the production. She and I have known each other for about 40 years, and she’s always roped me into everything—including this!
Q: Can you tell me about your role?
A: Everyone thinks I’m going to be playing a funny, spicy part, but I’m not. Each year the play focuses on abused women from a different part of the world, and this year the focus is on “comfort women” from the Rape of Nanking during WWII. Mrs. Thompson and I represent Chinese women who were abducted and raped repeatedly by Japanese soldiers. The stories of these women are just horrifying. When I’m performing, I’m just crying my eyes out…it’s so, so sad.
Q: Have you ever acted before?
A: No, this is my first time.
Q: How have you been preparing?
A: I’ve got four pages of script to memorize, and that’s very difficult because it’s so moving and so depressing. I rehearse at least twice a day, first thing in the morning and then again at night, and I also rehearse with the other cast members. It’s a lot of work and I’ll be really glad when Monday’s here!
Q: Are you finding it a rewarding experience?
A: The fact that we are representing these women and getting their voices out there, telling other people about the experiences of the comfort women, is great. And of course, supporting the women’s shelters is rewarding too.
Q: What have you learned?
A: It’s so interesting to see the difference between me and my friend. We’re very different: I’m so emotional, this story hits me right in the heart and I cry and cry. But Mrs. Thompson is strong, angry and vocal. We’re completely opposite, but we’re both seeking to convey the same message.
See Mary Ling Mohammed in The Vagina Monologues on Monday, March 6, at 4pm and 8pm. Tickets are $45, proceeds to support Bryony House and Alice Housing.
This article appears in Mötley Crüe.